WE ARE KAMPUNG PEOPLE

B and I dream of owning a land in Janda Baik, preferably somewhere in the kampong, along the river. We talked about it recently and imagined how wonderful it is to be able to afford a home there. We pictured ourselves spending our weekends there, away from the hustle and bustle of city life. We’ll have fish ponds, durian trees, mangosteen, rambutans and mangoes around the house. I would want to have a pangkin* built under the mango tree and a hammock on the verandah. And in the backyard, I will plant some lemongrass, pandan, curry leaves tree, galangals and chillies, to name a few. The kitchen will be huge and airy with as much natural light coming in as possible. There’ll also be a small surau for our family to perform prayers together. We’d imagined that as we grow older, we’ll be spending more and more time there, coming down to KL only to visit our kids and see how they’re doing.

It would be nice to wake up to misty mornings, birds chirping and the sound of water running downstream. I smiled at the thought of us taking morning walks around the kampong or sitting by the fish pond together or enjoying the cool breeze whilst reading on the verandah. Oh! And not to mention, B’s voice, reciting the quran from the small surau, permeating throughout the house…I’m just flushed with emotions at the mere thought of it.

It might not mean much to some. But it is to us. It’s our dream. We’ll get there someday…Insyaallah…

*a pangkin is an elevated wooden platform, usually erected under a tree.